No Doubt Things Are Getting Weird

I am feeling compelled to reach out and check-in. How is everyone doing with all the world's craziness right now? 

It's all pretty weird and I've noticed a few interesting things.

One thing I noticed is the irony when it comes to food and bodies with the Coronavirus pandemic. 

When you read articles on "staying healthy", people are usually saying to eat mostly fresh raw fruits and vegetables and limit processed foods. 

Well, this week we started getting requests for all snacks and meals shared with the school during conference week to be pre-packaged and our town government was telling us to stock up on canned goods. 

So in a health crisis - prepackaged is the way to go! 

In addition, this crisis made me think of the statistic that says the people who have the best survival rate due to all causes are those who are considered overweight according to BMI.  

Larger people have more reserves and energy to fight illness longer. 

So it just made me pause and remember that there are no hard and fast rules for what is healthy and what is not or what will keep us safe or what won't. 

This is both a relief and terrifying at the same time and I think that is why so many people have a hard time navigating when it comes to our health and what we should do.  

This is also why it's so important to have an open mind, be flexible and be in touch with your own body to know what will serve you in each moment. That is going to vary from person to person. 

I'll also take a moment to talk about the Coronavirus and what it means to me given my post a few weeks ago about believing we can heal from anything. 

I do believe we can heal from anything and I also believe that our mindset is one of the most important factors, if not THE most important factor, in our healing. 

That is why it's important that we don't panic even as the world is falling apart around us. 

This is another both/and situation. Let's do what is practical and doable AND let's also not let our fear get the best of is. 

This is going to be a challenge for sure. I could feel fear and panic sitting in my chest when I woke up this morning. There is so much unknown in a situation like this and it can be hard to resist following the fear spiral and imagining all the things that might possibly happen. 

This is one of those situations where we have no control and that is mighty uncomfortable. 

This is also one of those situations that are asking us to be grounded, centered and present because that is all we can do. 

We are going to be way more helpful to the world and have more access to ideas and solutions if we can tap into a sense of calm. 

As I sit and wonder why this is happening, I also zoom out and look at the big picture and consider two things. 

First, I do trust that the world is generally a good place and everything is going to be ok. And second, I also have to face the hard truth that "ok" might mean going through an incredibly difficult ordeal and then regrouping to become even stronger than we were before. 

Along those lines, I can already see the "benefit" that a virus like this has on humanity. People are seeing the places where people are suffering in ways maybe they were able to ignore before and now they cannot. 

For example, poor people without access to healthcare are likely walking around with the virus and trying to get to work because without work they won't have food for their families and by the time they show up at hospitals they are very sick and who knows who has been infected.

So suddenly a light is being shone on the very dark places that already exist in our world with the idea being that we will see this and do better. 

Or what if even bringing people together to support each other through this scary time was part of its purpose? I know I was texting with many people yesterday that I might not have been talking to ordinarily as we were all reaching out to touch base and lean on each other. 

All the fear this situation is bringing up is also a curiosity to me because both science and spirituality tell us that you cannot heal what you don't feel. 

So there is another aspect of this experience - releasing fear. If you don't have control over everything and life could change on a dime and you were able to release your fear, what would you be doing differently to make the most out of this experience you are currently having on this planet? 

When we move past the surface fear, there is the potential for some very deep growth and expansion that comes from a global crisis like this. 

This is a wake-up call. 

It's a reminder to be more grateful for what we already have and to love each other more than ever.

It's a reminder that life is short and there is no time or purpose in hating ourselves or hating our bodies. 

This is a call to dig deep for more compassion and love and stand firm and rooted and grounded in potential and possibility.  

We know from science as well that presence and mindfulness and compassion literally strengthen our immune systems. 

So if you are scared and wondering what you can do - keep practicing gratitude and self-compassion and show up for love. 

It might not seem like a very useful practice but each one of us choosing love and releasing fear can quite literally help save the world. 

Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay